These free courses are not all necessarily from universities, but they can help broaden your horizons and help you understand religion - whether or not the religion in question is one you practice.

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Free Religious Studies Courses

Religious studies is the investigation and study of religious ideas and practices. Taking a religious studies course can broaden your understanding of various religions, theories and arguments and improve your reading, writing and critical thinking abilities.

The Open University

The Open University has a general religious studies course to introduce students to modern religious practice.

Utah State University (USU)

About.com

About.com offers email courses about a variety of theological topics, designed for people who wish to identify as Christian, atheist, agnostic, or something else entirely. Their Guide to Atheism includes two courses worth noting: Theology and God 101, and Logic, Skepticism and Critical Thinking 101. But Christians may prefer to check out The Gospel According to Mark, a Bible Study course.

Gresham College

Gresham College posts some of its more interesting lectures online for public access. One example is Demonisation and Witch Hunts in Religion and Politics, which includes a power point presentation. Another is Hawaiian Religion and Dance, a very unique topic within religious studies.

World Bible School

Yale University

Yale provides videorecordings of previously taught lectures on a variety of topics, religion included. One example is the Introduction to the Old Testament course, which is perfect for people interested in studying the Hebrew Bible.

Discover the Bible

University of Notre Dame (ND)

Although ND no longer runs its own open courseware program, courses from the prestigious university can still be found online elsewhere. The Virtual University requested permission to provide ND courses such as Latino Theology and Christian Tradition. Several other lecture courses, such as Jews and Christians Throughout History, can be downloaded through iTunes.

Judaism 101

While not technically a course, the Judaism 101 website is the perfect introduction for people who want to learn more about what it means to be Jewish. Each page of the encyclopedia site is labeled to help readers choose to learn information based on their familiarity level. 'Gentile' pages are for non-Jews, 'Basic' pages contain information that all Jewish people should know, and 'Intermediate' and 'Advanced' pages offer scholars a closer look at the Jewish faith.

SGI-USA Riverside Region & Riverside Buddhist Center

On this center's website, a fantastic 'About Buddhism' section can serve as a crash course in the Buddhist faith. This is perfect for understanding some important history and concepts, whether you are interested in Buddhism yourself, or just want to further appreciate the variety of faiths from around the world.

Magicka School

By joining as a novitiate on their website, you can have free access to their beginner's course on what it means to be a Wiccan. Certificates of completion are available, but the school does not offer Wiccan degrees or initiations. Materials are solely for self-fulfillment.

Studying Islam

Studying Islam contains a number of courses focusing on the Quran, Sunnah, and Haddith. Although all courses are free, you will have to create a login for their website in order to access them. If you don't want to join, the site also has links to youtube lectures on Islamic topics of interest.